Spiritual effects of wealth and poverty on people

Faith & Science Conversation
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I know many topics here in the forum tend to hover around the “Demarcation Problem” (What qualifies as ‘scientific’ and what doesn’t). And so many subjects do involve scientific questions that also have spiritual implications. Here is a spiritual topic that I think has some ‘grabbable’ scientific handles as it could probably be studied in sociological terms.

Our Sunday school class at church has been reading through the book, Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together. And one of the many sections in this book (section or chapter 5) is about the “blessed are the poor” beattitude. I was so intrigued and moved by how this chapter began that I want to share that here, with apologies to Philip Yancey for shortening and summarizing his contribution to it - his words were better than mine here of course, but this is what I could fit on a ‘poster page’ to put up on my classroom wall. The list Yancey shares from Monika Hellwig, though, I included completely with no changes. Here is my created ‘poster image’ shared below. (and a couple suggested discussion questions to follow - also from the book.) Hopefully you can click on the graphic to enlarge it to readable form for yourself.

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Discussion questions that we addressed as a class and that could also invite response here:

  1. Matthew refers to the poor ‘in spirit’, whereas Luke records it as just “the poor”.
    Is this difference significant? Why?

  2. Why do you think Jesus began the beatitudes with this one?

  3. Why do you think the blessed state of the poor is given in present tense and not in
    future tense?

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I find it interestng that the Good News puts it as “spiritually poor” whereas I would have thought it more “low in Spirit” as in depressed or upset. Which would correlate better with Those who mourn" .

There’s the usual reversal of what is now to what is to come that seems a repeating theme in Christ’s teaching, implying that those who are blessed on earth witl fare worse in Heaven and vice versa.
Perhaps there is a different financial status quo in the modern world, at least in the USA, Europe etc. whereas there is more predominance in mental anguish.

I would have thought that was self evident in the difference between how things are now as opposed to how things would be in the “New Kingdom”
However ther eis an imdeiacy in Christ’s teaching that is hard to understand in the light of how much time has past since without the dramatic changes of that Kingdom “whicjh is upon you”.

It is one of those “Questions” we find most difficult to confront let alone try and answer.

The juxtaposition of earthly and spiritual wealth becomes more poingniant the morre wealth we accumalate, and we cling to such words as
“Those who have been given much, much will be expected” as a sort of getout claus as long as we at least try and be charitable.
Having been bot very poor and at least comfortable (financially) I found it was more human percepton that spiritual that was markedly different. When I was unablble to give, People gave me a wider birth, than when I was (am) financially secure.

Richard

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